Preview — Empire Falls
by Richard Russo

Empire Falls

Empire Falls, Maine: once a thriving hub of industry, this small town nestles in a bend of the vast and winding Knox River, and has always been the empire of the wealthy Whiting family. Now the last Mrs Whiting presides like a black widow spider over its declining fortunes. She harbours a grudge against her employee Miles Groby, who runs the Whiting-owned Empire Grill, butEmpire Falls, Maine: once a thriving hub of industry, this small town nestles in a bend of the vast and winding Knox River, and has always been the empire of the wealthy Whiting family. Now the last Mrs Whiting presides like a black widow spider over its declining fortunes. She harbours a grudge against her employee Miles Groby, who runs the Whiting-owned Empire Grill, but hopes one day to own it himself. Miles, gentle and hopeless, has other problems: his wife has run off with his worst customer, he frets about his adored teenage daughter, and his drunken father sponges off everyone.

As the novel builds to a shocking climax, Russo constantly surprises with characters who will disarm you, a plot with as many twists and falls as the Knox River itself, and an ending that will make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck....more

“The simple truth is not all of us become the men we once hoped we might be.” --Master and Commander, Patrick O'Brian.

Miles Roby did not grow up to become the man he once hoped he might be. How do you measure success? Accomplishments? Wealth? Distance Travelled? Kindness? Character? Once the brightest boy in his class, Miles flips burgers at his diner, The Empire Grill, which he leases from Mrs. Whiting, the town’s domineering heiress who runs the town as her fiefdom.

Though Miles considers him“The simple truth is not all of us become the men we once hoped we might be.” --Master and Commander, Patrick O'Brian.

Miles Roby did not grow up to become the man he once hoped he might be. How do you measure success? Accomplishments? Wealth? Distance Travelled? Kindness? Character? Once the brightest boy in his class, Miles flips burgers at his diner, The Empire Grill, which he leases from Mrs. Whiting, the town’s domineering heiress who runs the town as her fiefdom.

Though Miles considers himself a failure, he is a decent man and a doting father to his teenage daughter, Tick. Miles quit college to care for his dying mother, and now he spends his free time painting the rectory at St. Catherine’s; looks after his alcoholic father and disabled brother; and is a loyal friend to an emotionally disturbed and disabled woman. Miles loses money at the grill while employing others with luck worse than his own.

Miles (a man with an “overdeveloped sense of responsibility”) contrasts with his rakish father, Max (“no slave to conscience”). Max’s advice: “don’t get greedy; steal small” because you can get away with the small grift. Miles dreams of escaping Empire Falls, but the sacrificial virtue he inherited from his deceased mother does not allow him to follow his irresponsible father’s road to “freedom.”

The other main character is Empire Falls, Maine, a rusty, industrial town. Like Miles, Empire Falls is not the home that its residents once hoped it might be. The global economy killed the logging and textile mills. The residents, forced out of manufacturing into serfdom and low-paying service jobs, invent fantasies of rich investors reopening the shuttered mills and saving the town.

Richard Russo explores the psyche of the defeated:

After all, what was the whole world but a place for people to yearn for their heart’s impossible desires, for those desires to become entrenched in defiance of logic, plausibility, and even passage of time, as eternal as polished marble. (295)

Russo won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2002 for this tragic-comic social novel that abounds with compassion and gentle humor. He serves many sub-plots involving other parents and children at the tasty grill of "Empire Falls," and Russo inserts strategic flashbacks (told in italics) about Miles’ youth and the secrets of the Whiting family.

This novel forced me to ask: Is happiness too much of a burden (“a carcinogenic”) for some people? Can those who believe in the Great Chain of Being ever aspire to a place outside the chain of command? How do we escape serfdom? How do we measure the success of a life? I ask these questions because I did not become the man I once hoped I might be. To accept this with good cheer, I like to read about alleged middle-aged “failures” like Miles Roby to discover the reliable metrics of success.

Herodotus warned: “call no man happy until his death." My corollary is probably true: proclaim no person a failure until death. We may yet become the humans we once hoped to be. Until then, it is necessary that someone should be on the side of the defeated.

Ed Harris as Miles Roby and Paul Newman as Max in the HBO miniseries "Empire Falls"

******* Here is a link to my review of “The Shipping News,” another Pulitzer Prize novel in which Quoyle, another a middle-aged man, struggles against his sense of failure.

Steve SckendaGary wrote: "This is my favorite Russo novel. He really captures the mood of small town life. His first novels were set in the Mohawk Valley, in upstaGary wrote: "This is my favorite Russo novel. He really captures the mood of small town life. His first novels were set in the Mohawk Valley, in upstate NY, where my family came from. He's broadened his geograp..."

Hi Gary. That's what I love about Russo-the small town life, particularly in rust belt states where people feel the disorientation that comes with change. Therefore, I am attracted to those Mohawk books that you talk about. I particularly liked the film Nobody' Fool, which turned me on to Russo to begin with....more
May 05, 2015 05:21PM

Empire Falls, Maine is a town that’s best days are long behind it. The mill and factory that used to be the main employers have been closed for years, and the only person around with two dimes to rub together is the very rich Francine Whiting who essentially owns and controls everything worth having in the area. Miles Robey was on the verge of earning his college degree and escaping Empire Falls forever when he returned home to care for his dying mother and ended up working for Mrs. Whiting as tEmpire Falls, Maine is a town that’s best days are long behind it. The mill and factory that used to be the main employers have been closed for years, and the only person around with two dimes to rub together is the very rich Francine Whiting who essentially owns and controls everything worth having in the area. Miles Robey was on the verge of earning his college degree and escaping Empire Falls forever when he returned home to care for his dying mother and ended up working for Mrs. Whiting as the manager of the Empire Grill.

Two decades later and Miles is a middle aged punching bag still slinging burgers who probably bursts into tears every time he hears Pearl Jam’s Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town. His selfish wife Janine is divorcing Miles to marry health club owner Walt Comeau who likes to stop by the Empire Grill every afternoon to rub it in. Miles’ father Max is the town neer-do-well who is impervious to guilt and is constantly trying to get money out of him. Town cop Jimmy Minty starts approaching Miles under the guise of friendship but has some long simmering grudge against him. Worst of all is that Miles has to report the slender profits to Mrs. Whiting even as she refuses to pay for any improvements to the increasingly shabby diner. The one bright spot in life for Miles is his teen-aged daughter Tick who he loves dearly and has a close relationship with.

This is the first book I’ve read by Russo (Although I’ve seen the movie version of Nobody’s Fool.), and I absolutely loved it. At least until the ending, but we’ll get to that shortly. The depiction of a small blue collar town slowly going under was done incredibly well from the opening that describes how Empire Falls has been ruled by the Whitings for generations and how heir C.B. went from his dream of wanting to be a poet and artist in Mexico to running the family business and marrying Francine.

The characters are another big selling point because there’s a lot more than I described in the brief summary above, and all of them seem rich and fully developed. It’s to Russo’s credit that he was able to make a cast that includes some absolutely infuriating and unpleasant people and make you at least understand all of them. There were times where I wished that Miles would push his father out of a moving car or toss a pan full of hot grease into the face of Walt, but there was also a certain obnoxious charm to them most of the time.

Miles is the heart of the book, and I was a little worried that I wasn’t going to like him much in the early going. I’m generally not a fan of passive characters that are so wrapped up in regrets and unearned guilt that they’re essentially just pawns for anyone looking to use them, and Miles fits this description to a T. Being raised Catholic by his selfless mother has convinced him that wanting anything is practically a sin, and he’s almost pathologically incapable of standing up for himself. However, Miles’ brother is constantly calling him out for taking the path of least resistance and urging him to at least try to change his circumstances. That awareness of his nature and the flashes of backbone that Miles shows at times make him sympathetic despite being pretty much a doormat.

As far as the ending (view spoiler)[ I loved that Mrs. Whiting had essentially turned Miles into an indentured servant because of the affair his mother had with her husband. Miles seemed exceptionally slow on the uptake there, but the hardest place to see a trap is from inside it.

However, I was less pleased with other elements. John Voss shooting the people in the high school was the kind of dramatic moment that it would take for Miles to make a big gesture like leaving Empire Falls to protect Tick. So while I wasn’t sold on the idea of this character driven story about small town secrets and regrets turning into a ripped-from-the-headlines tragedy, it made sense in that respect. But I didn’t like how everything got kind of deus ex machina after that. Mrs. Whiting drowns, Jimmy Minty is disgraced, Zach gets shipped off to Seattle, Janine leaves Walt all while David and Bea get the new restaurant going. That all just seemed a little too convenient for Miles. (hide spoiler)]

Despite those complaints this was still an exceptionally well written book with that did a great job establishing and exploring all the tangled relationships in one dying town, and it has enough humor to keep everything from getting overly grim and depressing for the most part. It’s easy to see why it won a Pulitzer. ["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>...more

To me, the most difficult thing to do in literature is develop a character. Character-driven novels are a gamble because if they are not handled correctly, they can crash and burn before they’ve taken off. Plot-driven novels are a safer bet, but then you’d miss out on an opportunity to really provoke your reader. I liked Empire Falls primarily because of how real Miles and Max and Mrs. Whiting, etc. felt to me.

This book encompasses whatI’ve really fallen in love with the characters in this one.

To me, the most difficult thing to do in literature is develop a character. Character-driven novels are a gamble because if they are not handled correctly, they can crash and burn before they’ve taken off. Plot-driven novels are a safer bet, but then you’d miss out on an opportunity to really provoke your reader. I liked Empire Falls primarily because of how real Miles and Max and Mrs. Whiting, etc. felt to me.

This book encompasses what it must have been like (although I’m only imagining here) to live in a small New England town suffering through a period of economic decay. It is depressing, and yet it isn’t—because of the characters. Somehow Miles inspires hope in the reader, and Max’s frustrating personality actually serves to make a point (in addition to providing comic relief), which is that you don’t actually have to take life so seriously. I mean, you can if you want. But you don’t have to. And even Mrs. Whiting speaks volumes. She may be vicious and manipulative on the surface, but the more the reader discovers about her, the more he is able to empathize with her. She has struggled more than any other character in the novel and yet she presents herself stoically. How very “New England” of her. And so do we find out for sure whether there’s a heart of gold underneath all that armor? Nope! Because really, not much happens in this story plot-wise. But it almost doesn’t matter because it is the great set of characters in this book that, for me, made it most enjoyable....more

JasonOh, okay, yeah that sounds vaguely familiar. Miles's dad was a great character from that book from what I can remember. Comic relief but with some heaOh, okay, yeah that sounds vaguely familiar. Miles's dad was a great character from that book from what I can remember. Comic relief but with some heartfelt moments....more
Jul 22, 2014 04:07PM

KemperMike wrote: "I feel like there was a part in which Miles remembers his father as an impulsive, untrustworthy but ultimately loveable person. ContrastiMike wrote: "I feel like there was a part in which Miles remembers his father as an impulsive, untrustworthy but ultimately loveable person. Contrasting with his efforts to be a good father to his daughter. The..."

You're right. That part is in Empire Falls....more
Jul 25, 2014 07:37AM

This was a book my brother really enjoyed and recommended to me as recently as this summer. So it went on my list. :o)

My brother passed away on October 9, 2007. Today (well, since it's after midnight, technically, yesterday) is his birthday, so it seems fitting that I've finally gotten around to posting this review today.

When I finish a book, I find I kind of have to let things simmer in my brain a bit before I can really parse out all my reactions to it. I’m not sure why, but this one took meThis was a book my brother really enjoyed and recommended to me as recently as this summer. So it went on my list. :o)

My brother passed away on October 9, 2007. Today (well, since it's after midnight, technically, yesterday) is his birthday, so it seems fitting that I've finally gotten around to posting this review today.

When I finish a book, I find I kind of have to let things simmer in my brain a bit before I can really parse out all my reactions to it. I’m not sure why, but this one took me a little longer than usual. I think that it may be that the book didn’t really have one big point to make – rather, it was more an interweaving of lots of little points, that all weave together in a portrait of everyday life in a particular time and place.

I liked the book tremendously. I enjoyed the pace and the mood, and felt the author has a very natural sense of tone that communicates volumes about his characters and their situations in a mostly unobtrusive and seamless way. I also appreciated that he was able to write many of his characters in such a way that the reader is able to like them and sometimes empathize with them, even when they are not being particularly likeable. I found that I had developed an affection for characters even when they were occasionally – or more than occasionally – annoying. Kind of like with real people I know. :) This is a feature I really liked in the novel.

My first and most frequent response as I was reading the book was to hear in my head Thoreau’s line that “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Empire Falls is clearly a whole town living lives of quiet desperation. Though I think Thoreau meant it in terms of people being trapped by the daily grind, or leading an unexamined, insufficiently spiritually-nurturing kind of life. Whereas I mean it more in the sense of someone become ossified in ordinariness, having given up on their dreams, or not daring to dream at all. Miles Roby, the central character of Empire Falls, gave up on his dreams as a young man, and has become rooted in Empire Falls. Although he doesn’t walk around despairing of his life or choices, and does keep alive some hopes (however unrealistic) for the future, he has become settled into his small town life and narrow-bordered existence. Several other characters are undone by disappointed dreams – Grace Roby, who once gets tantalizingly close to the realization of a dream, only to have the rest of her life tainted by its failure to realize; Janine Roby, who leaves her husband in pursuit of a dream that ends up disappointing her; Tick Roby, who is in serious danger of giving up on her dreams before she has really even had the chance to take them out for a spin.

Inertia plays a key role in this sense of quiet desperation in the novel – inertia at times braided with wishful thinking. Over and over again, we see characters stuck in a particular pattern of behavior, with apparently no prospect for breaking out of their patterns. The characters that are the most tragic or pathetic (I’m not sure which, or even if it’s possible to distinguish between the two) are those who are or become trapped by their own wishful thinking. Miles, again, is the chief example of this, but you also see it in Cindy Whiting, Janine, Charlie Whiting, and even Max Roby. And, inertia in this story is true to its nature – it takes an out-of-the-ordinary event to knock loose inertia and set things back in motion.

Which is all beginning to sound like a fairly gloomy book, as I look over what I’ve written. But it’s not doom and gloom. It is, rather, a very human story about human relationships. And as much as you see in the book about human foibles, you also see moments of ordinary human grace. On the one hand, the book is full of all the secrets – petty and not so petty – that populate daily life, whether we keep them out of personal shame, or because of our uncertainty about whether telling or keeping a secret is more hurtful to others. On the other hand, the book is also full of quiet acts of self-sacrifice that some of these secrets entail, whether in the keeping or the telling (for example, David Roby keeping a secret from his brother in order to protect him.)

My one dissatisfaction with the book (not bad enough to call it a complaint) had to do with the final act. Although there needed to be a turning point event to knock Miles Roby out of his inertia, I think the author went a bit over the top. I didn’t think it was terrible, but I do think that was the one weak spot of the story.

Two random, disconnected thoughts that I wanted to mention but I couldn’t find anywhere to fit these in nicely into my review:

Disconnected Thought 1: Francine Whiting reminds me of no one more than the Mary Carson character in The Thorn Birds, especially as played by Barbara Stanwyck.

Disconnected Thought 2: There is a brilliant moment in Miles' final scene with Cindy Whiting, in which Cindy calls Miles out for pitying her, and for automatically assuming that she had never had any other romantic possibilities. Up until that moment, Miles has only ever seen Cindy as a cut-out, taking for granted that she had no existence beyond him, and suddenly, in an instant, she is revealed as a three-dimensional human being. That moment is so surprising for the reader it almost catches your breath, and the reader is left feeling supremely uncomfortable, as uncomfortable as Miles is at that moment, because the reader is exposed right alongside Miles – as Cindy's accusation reveals exactly what we have been thinking all along.

Finally one quote, which actually stands in for a much longer recurring motif:

“The passenger seat and floor of the Jetta were now paint-flecked, thanks to Max’s refusal to change into clean clothes when they quit for the day. He made no distinction between work clothes and other clothes, and since he had started helping Miles at St. Cat’s, the old man’s shirts and pants and shoes were all paint-smudged. When people pointed this out, he offered his customary “So what?” Few men, Miles reflected, lived so comfortably within the confines of a two-word personal philosophy.”

This was the BEST book I've read in quite a while. I had actually seen the HBO miniseries based on this a few years back and enjoyed it but didn't think about reading the book until someone told me it's everything Twilight isn't: well-written, complicated, fully-developed characters, good story, strong dialogue, etc, etc.Sold! That's not to say there's any reason to compare it to Twilight. It's not about vampires or in the same genre or league. The Maine town of Empire Falls is probably like manThis was the BEST book I've read in quite a while. I had actually seen the HBO miniseries based on this a few years back and enjoyed it but didn't think about reading the book until someone told me it's everything Twilight isn't: well-written, complicated, fully-developed characters, good story, strong dialogue, etc, etc.Sold! That's not to say there's any reason to compare it to Twilight. It's not about vampires or in the same genre or league. The Maine town of Empire Falls is probably like many Rust Belt cities where residents who stayed behind struggle to get by and wonder what they missed by not leaving. Miles, the main character, almost made it out when he went away to college, but he came home to care for his dying mother. Two decades later he's still managing the local diner, where much of the novel is based. His wife has left him for the owner of the local gym, the woman he's loved since high school thinks he's too nice a guy to ever date. It'd be easy to feel sorry for him, but he's too smart and pulled together to take pity on and you know they're the ones losing out.The novel moves at a small town pace. But honestly, the plot, while it holds together and left me wondering what was coming, isn't that important. There's a lot going on, but I didn't feel overwhelmed trying to keep up with everything. It's like Russo has dropped the reader into this world to grab a seat at the diner and watch small town life unfold. But it's not really the cliche small town life we all know, it's more modern and tarnished. Russo writes so beautifully and with empathy for his characters, who are allowed to have conflicting emotions and behavior, sometimes all at the same time. By the end I was sad to leave because I knew these people and they were so enjoyable to follow. I really hated Max for most of the book, but then it's not that his character changes, but you see him in a new light and by then end, I liked him, though he still drove me crazy. I was a bit envious of Russo who seems to be able to pin people and their feelings down so well. Sure, he's creating these characters so he should know their dearest secrets and every emotion, but they're so realistically written that it feels like he's reading the mind of an actual person.I could go on, but really, just read it. I think I'm in love with this book.

Here's a line I love from it that is kind of the point: Lives are rivers. We imagine we can direct their paths, though in the end there's but one destination, and we end up being true to ourselves only because we have no choice....more

DanielWonderful review, Jennifer. I'll have to read it. Sounds like a realistic, schtick-free book written for actual adults -- a rarity these days. Count mWonderful review, Jennifer. I'll have to read it. Sounds like a realistic, schtick-free book written for actual adults -- a rarity these days. Count me in. Wonder if the book club would like it. (Keep in mind they liked "Twilight.") ...more
Mar 12, 2009 09:02PM

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.Big novel about a little place in Maine. The town is in decline and the novel presents numerous characters and plots and overtells most of them, rather than let everyone speak for himself or circumstances to reveal meaning, the author piles on the evidence and looks in on character’s thinking without revealing their complexity. If scenes don’t repeat themselves, what they represent about the characters or fate of the town and its people do. Too much of the storytelling is pedestrian, though RussBig novel about a little place in Maine. The town is in decline and the novel presents numerous characters and plots and overtells most of them, rather than let everyone speak for himself or circumstances to reveal meaning, the author piles on the evidence and looks in on character’s thinking without revealing their complexity. If scenes don’t repeat themselves, what they represent about the characters or fate of the town and its people do. Too much of the storytelling is pedestrian, though Russo can handle both description and characterization ably when he wants to, he often settles for a speedwritten, colloquial prose that doesn’t come to life.

And there is a meanness embedded in his descriptions of some characters (the Whitings, the Mintys, Janine Roby and her new husband) that borders on hypocrisy when balanced with the forbearance he presents some characters, whose behaviors, or at least motives seem not too far different from the less favored. Janine, for example, seems as abandoned and mis-served by marriage as the mother of Miles Roby, her husband, had been served by her marriage. One is tragic and the other pathetic. Despite going out of its way to make sure we share seemingly everyone’s opinion, including her mom and her daughter, that Janine is a fool, there is never any effort to elicit sympathy for a woman who became involved with a man who never loved her, worked cheek-by-cheek with the woman he always loved, and who has never managed to step up to the plate in any significant way.

The book ends with a long anticipated and digressively presented Columbine shooting and, in its wake, at least the possibility that Janine and Miles may reconcile and the town’s fortunes are rebounding sufficiently to allow life to go on. None of it seems organic, just one writer’s idea of a complicated story played out in a small town with some emblematic meaning for our post-industrial world....more

Bittersweet story about everyday life in a small town, or so it seems. I have to admit that I was a little bored at the beginning of it (the prologue was a little dry, in my opinion), but once I got into the present-day scenario, Russo gradually brought the storyline to a powerful culmination and held my interest to the end.

I bought this book having only read on the back of it's cover and seeing that it had won the Pulitzer. I half-way expected to find it sligthly boring for that same reason, simpy because I tend to like books with a fair amount of action. And "Empire Falls" has very little action.

But man, this book is so well written, I had to stop and curse out loud several times, being a writer myself. Small, everyday situations become intensely interesting, as the web of relationships becomes apparent. It feltI bought this book having only read on the back of it's cover and seeing that it had won the Pulitzer. I half-way expected to find it sligthly boring for that same reason, simpy because I tend to like books with a fair amount of action. And "Empire Falls" has very little action.

But man, this book is so well written, I had to stop and curse out loud several times, being a writer myself. Small, everyday situations become intensely interesting, as the web of relationships becomes apparent. It felt almost like reading a soap opera, but with great actors and a huge budget. I simply had to know, what happened next to the people in this little town.

And when the book ended, I still wanted to know more. That more than anything, marks a great novel.

The only reason, I don't give it a full five stars, is because of some of the flashback chapters. They serve a purpose, but also took the pace down, sometimes to the point of boredom. When I did put this novel down, it was often during one of these chapters.

But all in all, Empire Falls is a great American novel in its original sense. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone....more

This is one of those rare occasions when I wish GoodReads were to offer half-star ratings, because then I could give "Empire Falls" four and a half stars. It was almost a five-star novel in my estimation, but I had a few quibbles with it. It's nevertheless an excellent book, and one I don't feel much need to review at length; my friend Jennifer, who both recommended the book to me and lent me her copy, has already written a brilliant assessment. Her review is at http://www.goodreads.com/review/sThis is one of those rare occasions when I wish GoodReads were to offer half-star ratings, because then I could give "Empire Falls" four and a half stars. It was almost a five-star novel in my estimation, but I had a few quibbles with it. It's nevertheless an excellent book, and one I don't feel much need to review at length; my friend Jennifer, who both recommended the book to me and lent me her copy, has already written a brilliant assessment. Her review is at http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

So what are my quibbles? They're not many, really, but I felt that, at times, Russo laid too much out for his readers. There is, for example, a scene in which David Roby details for his brother Miles the personality traits each sibling got from their father and which he received from their mother. It felt like something Russo should have allowed us, his readers, to figure out for ourselves. I wanted Russo to have more trust in his audience. Also, the book seemed to wrap up a bit too neatly; the lives Russo depicted were certainly messy, and they seemed to demand a less tidy conclusion.

Still, the book, overall, is a staggering achievement. Russo has an amazing eye for the human condition -- how the way our parents raise us often determines our directions us for the rest of our lives, even if we think we're smart enough to see those risks and do our damnedest to choose our own paths anyhow. (The novel feels, at times, like a book-length meditation on the poem "This Be The Verse," by Philip Larkin: "They fuck you up, your mum and dad. / The may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had / And add some extra, just for you.")

On a personal note, it was interesting to read Richard Russo's book at the same time I read George Eliot's "Middlemarch." Both, by depicting the lives of tightly knit communities -- the births, deaths love affairs, marriages, educations, careers and dreams both failed and accomplished of the members of those communities -- get at the bigger truths of all our lives. Both Eliot and Russo have a gift for the sardonic, and make us develop an affection for characters who, objectively speaking, we should not like. There's no way we should want to spend time with Russo's Max Roby, yet Russo is such a talented writer that we not only suffer him but develop as much begrudging affection for him as his sons Miles and David have.

I've already written more about "Empire Falls" than I intended to. Jennifer nailed it, and you should read her review instead. Then read the book....more

JenI remember finding it a bit more melodramatic than most Russo, but then again I do like me some Russo. Over time Nobody's Fool has eclipsed my feelingI remember finding it a bit more melodramatic than most Russo, but then again I do like me some Russo. Over time Nobody's Fool has eclipsed my feelings for Straight Man. There's just something about a smart-assed fuck up of a character that calls to me. ...more
Nov 29, 2009 06:53PM

ElsI loved it too, in a 4 1/2 out of 5 stars kind of way.You touched on the only real flaw I found with this book; the way he had of telling the reader tI loved it too, in a 4 1/2 out of 5 stars kind of way.You touched on the only real flaw I found with this book; the way he had of telling the reader too much. And how he'd kind of change something mid-stream, with a strategically-placed "Actually..."I found myself remembering Mr. Lyon my high school English teacher saying "Show me, don't tell me."

Russo's short story, Horsemen, was my introduction to his work.I'm not sure anything most people could ever write would eclipse the greatness of that story....more
Dec 10, 2012 05:39AM

2.5 Stars Empire Falls by Richard Russo is a story about relationships and life in a small town called Empire Falls in Maine.

The stroy is extremely well written and the characters are very well developed. I felt at times I was looking in the windows of the characters homes and watching them live life on a daily basis. The relationship between the characters was so well portrayed and a wonderful sense of time and place comes across in the novel. Having said that I still just found the Novel OK 2.5 Stars Empire Falls by Richard Russo is a story about relationships and life in a small town called Empire Falls in Maine.

The stroy is extremely well written and the characters are very well developed. I felt at times I was looking in the windows of the characters homes and watching them live life on a daily basis. The relationship between the characters was so well portrayed and a wonderful sense of time and place comes across in the novel. Having said that I still just found the Novel OK . I think as the story unfolded and the details of small town life played out it seemed to drag on forever and I became bored and found myself page counting about 3/4 way through the book. What started out as an interesting and entertaining read became tedious and I looked forward to finishing the story.

To sum up I found the writing and the character development excellent and I enjoyed how he portrayed relationships in this small town. I just needed a little more drama to to keep me interested.

How do you cope with life when all your dreams stayed as they are, just dreams? How do you tell yourself “I have a happy life” when you know that what you yearned will never be? How do you start every morning with a smile? How do you keep afloat?

Empire Falls is the story of a small town who dreamed less than they should, and the few people who did and were the worse for it. It’s the story of unrealized dreams, an unrealized love, and an undone marriage. It’s the story of those who stayed, lookinHow do you cope with life when all your dreams stayed as they are, just dreams? How do you tell yourself “I have a happy life” when you know that what you yearned will never be? How do you start every morning with a smile? How do you keep afloat?

Empire Falls is the story of a small town who dreamed less than they should, and the few people who did and were the worse for it. It’s the story of unrealized dreams, an unrealized love, and an undone marriage. It’s the story of those who stayed, looking for anything stable in a place where, as the name suggests, everything falls.

“‘Power and Control’ Mrs. Whiting repeated, a smile playing at her lips.”

The mantra of the most powerful entity in Empire Falls proved to be her undoing. For like the great C.B.’s attempt on the Knox River, one cannot control life’s stream nor tamper with its power. Sometimes we think we do, sometimes we think we can overpower our dreams into fruition by sheer will, sometimes we think we can control life, but that is not always the case. Those times are but momentary lulls in a river raging with life. For if the untamable river of life makes empires, like Mrs. Whiting, fall. The same can happen to you and me. Life is like the River Knox, running, ebbing, and each flow different from the other.

“And I’ll tell you something else. What people around here like best about me? They like it that they’re more like me than they are like you. They look at me and they see the town they grew up in. They see their first girlfriend. They see the first high school football game they ever went to. You know what they see when they look at you? That they ain’t good enough. They look at you and see everything they ever done wrong in their lives. They hear you talk and maybe they’re thinking the same thing you are, except they can’t say it like you do and they know they won’t ever get credit. They see you and your buddy the principal with your heads together, deciding how things are gonna be, talking the way you talk and making your little jokes, and they know they’ll never get no place with either of you, not ever. But me? Maybe they might just get someplace with me, and that’s why they like me… They like my attitude, I guess you could say. And you know what? An attitude like yours? An attitude like yours leads to things.”

Of all the passages in this remarkable novel, this one had the most powerful impact on me. I confess that I’m guilty of this particular folly. Having gone to one of the best universities in my country, I usually talk fancy or intellectually even when I should not. I see people crease their brows, misunderstand me and feel inferior. When I do, more often than not, I take pride in that. I now abhor this foolishness and the pride along with it. With knowledge comes wisdom, the understanding of its application. For knowledge alone negates itself with the stupidity of pride, then boastfulness. Now I understand that I have no right to look down on people just because my dreams bore fruition. What if it were not the case? How would I feel then? The truly enlightened know never to be boastful, lest the great waves of the river descend upon you and drift your dreams away. One should not turn into a nightmare a good dream.

“And there comes a time in your life when you realize that if you don't take the opportunity to be happy, you may never get another chance again.”

The thing is unfulfilled dreams, as with Miles, will always stay with you. It will always cast a shadow on your life. But you know what? Dream again. Yes, having your dream unrealized hurts. It feels like shit. But not dreaming again is even worse; it will deflate your will to carry on. Giving up, that’s even shittier. Don’t let the pain of an experience defeat you, let it teach you instead. So dream of a new grill for your diner, dream of losing weight, dream of sending your kids to college, dream of buying all those books you’ve always wanted. Dream lots of things, because some of them are bound to come true. And it gets better. With your experience, you know that not every dream comes to pass. You’re less vulnerable, more mature, and with age, your dreams tend to be less selfish. Because when you were younger, your dreams were more synonymous with wants, now they’re much closer to hope. Maybe fortune is now more inclined to smile upon you. So how do you wake up every morning with a smile? You do so because just then, you were dreaming.

“After all, what was the whole wide world but a place for people to yearn for their hearts’ impossible desires, for those desires to become entrenched in defiance of logic, plausibility, and even the passage of time, as eternal as polished marble?”

How do you tell yourself “I have a happy life”?

Here’s a little secret. You don’t. There never is a happy life. Happiness is always momentary. Sometimes you’ll be happy, sometimes not. What people do wrong is they search for this happiness in their life’s entirety; but the answer is not to look, but to feel. Sight will always show you what you don’t have, what you didn’t become, what you failed to achieve, what’s better than you. But when you close your eyes and dwell about everything, every experience, every moment, you might just feel that little thing called contentment. And when you do, my friend, you’re one of the luckiest people on earth.

How do you keep afloat?

You stop fighting the current, let the river that is life carry you. ...more

As I put down EMPIRE FALLS after its last page, it suddenly dawned on me: "I have to read another book now, don't I." From the first page, I fell in love with the wonderful but flawed characters of Richard Russo's Pulitzer Prize-winner, and leaving the town of Empire Falls, Maine hit me with the force of parting with a dear friend.

The book begins with a brilliant and unforgettable image but becomes increasingly less memorable as the book continues. Russo's style is pleasantly lulling and subtle--appropriate especially here for the description of the slow demise of a midland maine town. But the book goes on too long, and the ending is completely unsatisfying.

If future archaeologists have nothing but novels written over the past 20 years or so to judge our society by, they will come to the following conclusions:1. Nearly everyone used foul language (although perhaps the future archaeologists won't know that it was foul language).2. Nearly everyone thought about sex most of the time.3. Almost all adults were either divorced, in the process of getting a divorce, or remarried after having been divorced.4. Young people spent a portion of their lives in aIf future archaeologists have nothing but novels written over the past 20 years or so to judge our society by, they will come to the following conclusions:1. Nearly everyone used foul language (although perhaps the future archaeologists won't know that it was foul language).2. Nearly everyone thought about sex most of the time.3. Almost all adults were either divorced, in the process of getting a divorce, or remarried after having been divorced.4. Young people spent a portion of their lives in a horrible place called "high school," where all but a tiny elite were ostracized and mocked. (Was every author an outcast in high school?)All of the above applies to Richard Russo's "Empire Falls." It also covers most of what I didn't like about the book.This left a lot to like. Russo offers a compelling narrative that is -- cliche alert -- hard to put down. He presents interesting characters, although perhaps they lack in depth. It's easy to tell who you're supposed to like and who you're not supposed to like.You're supposed to like the central character, Miles Roby, who runs the Empire Grill in Empire Falls, a town in Maine that appears to be in an irreversible decline.One of the central story lines involves Miles and his teenage daughter Christina, aka Tick. This relationship was the most attractive part of the book for me. I wanted to be a dad for a very long time, and I always pictured myself as the father of a daughter. So I tend to vicariously experience this relationship through nauseatingly sentimental movies such as "Father of the Bride" and "My Girl" and even in recent episodes of the "Funky Winkerbean" comic strip.Miles is sort of like the dad I picture myself to be, and Tick is sort of like the daughter I imagine. I like how Miles and Tick find "unintentional humor in the form of gaffes in the Empire Gazette, misspellings in advertisements for local stores, lapses in logic on printed signs like the one on the brick wall that surrounded the old empty shirt factory: NO TRESPASSING WITHOUT PERMISSION." Russo writes some fine sentences, none better than the one at the beginning of Chapter 5, when we learn almost everything there is to know about Miles' father, Max:"The donut shop in Empire Falls had always been one of Max Roby's favorite places because of its smoking policy, which was, 'Go ahead. See if we care.'"Although "Empire Falls" is an easy read, Russo writes a few sentences that leave me saying: How's that again? For example:"What Tick's coming to realize is that in some ways Zack's never been interested in her either, though not, she suspects, in the same way he's not interested in Candace."But maybe that's not such a bad sentence. Perhaps it reflects the way a teenage girl thinks. I wouldn't know....more

AmandaInteresting how we both approached this book differently, coming at it from different angles. You seem surprised at the foulness of mankind as describInteresting how we both approached this book differently, coming at it from different angles. You seem surprised at the foulness of mankind as described in the book -- I found it to be pretty accurate. I like Tick, but she's still a little screwballey, to me -- I kept thinking, "*My* daughter better not do that." I think your perplexing sentence,which I, too, lingered over, shows the shallowness of Zack -- he is only interested in others for personal gain...a different kind of gain from Tick than from Candace. The real villain is the old woman, though, huh? That character plumbs depths I have never come across -- at least not knowingly....more
Jun 18, 2011 05:49PM

JohnI don't remember the book all that well now, but I'm not surprised at the foulness of mankind. The foulness of mankind is a recurrent theme in the BibI don't remember the book all that well now, but I'm not surprised at the foulness of mankind. The foulness of mankind is a recurrent theme in the Bible, and I see it continually borne out all around me....more
Jun 18, 2011 06:50PM

This is a great American novel, following the intertwined lives of the residents of Empire Falls, Maine. Empire Falls is a declining mill town, lorded over by the baronial Whiting clan. It covers several generations, focusing mostly on the present day and recalling the past. Like all small towns, this is one with secrets, good guys and bad, but all the characters are drawn richly, with respect. There is wisdom here, perception and blindness, short joys and long regrets. This is a book that singsThis is a great American novel, following the intertwined lives of the residents of Empire Falls, Maine. Empire Falls is a declining mill town, lorded over by the baronial Whiting clan. It covers several generations, focusing mostly on the present day and recalling the past. Like all small towns, this is one with secrets, good guys and bad, but all the characters are drawn richly, with respect. There is wisdom here, perception and blindness, short joys and long regrets. This is a book that sings to me, resonating with issues that are personal and real in my life. It is a masterpiece.

Some of the characters make moral decisions and take the consequences of their actions.

Decisions are made for moral reasons and characters pay willingly for their sins. Working class and upper class interact here in a tale filled with religion, human experience...more

A small town in Maine. I could almost describe it from memory of my early years as a seasonal visitor there. The characters are so real, and we have a "silver fox" in our community, too. Teachers have to love the description of the art teacher's scene. The novel is wry and poignant, one of the best.

"Diverting one's attention from the past was not the same as envisioning and embarking upon a future." (p. 19) While this seems to be the theme of Empire Falls by Richard Russo, my biggest problem with this novel is that there doesn't seem to be any move toward the future in this novel. Everyone in the book seems to be so entangled in the misdeeds of their parents and grandparents, as well as their own, that they can't cut free and live that future.

Even when the hopes and dreams of the parents a"Diverting one's attention from the past was not the same as envisioning and embarking upon a future." (p. 19) While this seems to be the theme of Empire Falls by Richard Russo, my biggest problem with this novel is that there doesn't seem to be any move toward the future in this novel. Everyone in the book seems to be so entangled in the misdeeds of their parents and grandparents, as well as their own, that they can't cut free and live that future.

Even when the hopes and dreams of the parents are that the characters get loose for that future, the offspring seem doomed to betray that hope. Even when the offspring do take a few steps forward, the snare of their background pulls them back into a cesspool of despair that would make Camus or Kierkegaard seem like optimists.

At the conclusion of this book, I was as depressed as I was at any time since my first viewing of The Last Picture Show. As a minister, I found this novel to be the best presentation of the biblical idea that "the wage of sin is death" since that classic Bogdonavich film.

To be sure, there were touching moments that were artistically expressed enough to bring tears to my eyes and there were occasional flashes of insights that made it worth reading. Two such insights will be in upcoming sermons. Here are the ones I most enjoyed:

"'When I was a little boy,' Father Mark said, 'I used to think God actually lived up there.'

'In the steeple?' Miles said.

Father Mark nodded. 'I thought when we sang hymns we were calling to Him to come down and be among us. Which, of course we were. But the literal proximity was reassuring.'"

But it goes on.

"'God Himself, a couple stories up...so close.'

'I was just thinking how far away it is,' Miles admitted."

It goes on to suggest that Miles was more worried about falling, but then he goes on to think about the conversation.

"Interesting, Miles thought. Like himself, Father Mark, as a child, had been reassured by the imagined proximity of God, whereas adults, perhaps because they so often were up to no good, took more comfort from His remoteness." (pp. 44-45)

Later, on pages 198-199, the same priest admits that he once thought of God as being like his maternal grandmother. It seems the old lady gave gifts of cash to her grandchildren for Christmas. She claimed to be able to see into their hearts and to give them money based on how much they loved her. Of course, the thing is that she merely placed the cash for the grandchildren based on her relationship to their parents. It wasn't an opportunity to give based on love, but a vindictive opportunity to get at her children through her grandchildren.

The implication is that God is precisely the opposite of the vindictive grandmother. He really does give because He loves us and, even though He can see into the heart, He gives on the basis of His love, not ours.

Of course, there is also some bad theology in the book. On page 261, a prayer is said to be answered on the basis "God will sometimes respond to a request that's carelessly phrased." I think Russo has confused "magic" and "prayer." The devil looks for a carelessly phrased request in order to torture the petitioner, but God responds according to His wisdom, not ours.

As you can see, Empire Falls was stimulating to me, but not satisfying, colorful but not constructed well enough to be considered a solid work....more

What I found to be really remarkable about this book is its ending, not because it's so action-packed (especially in comparison to the rest of the book) but because the reader's sense of foreboding builds so subtly throughout the book until one can figure out which character it will be to cause the inevitable catastrophe.

Actually, this entire book could be a study in subtlety, because the nuances in each character are so lightly illustrated as to catch the unsuspecting reader off-guard. This isWhat I found to be really remarkable about this book is its ending, not because it's so action-packed (especially in comparison to the rest of the book) but because the reader's sense of foreboding builds so subtly throughout the book until one can figure out which character it will be to cause the inevitable catastrophe.

Actually, this entire book could be a study in subtlety, because the nuances in each character are so lightly illustrated as to catch the unsuspecting reader off-guard. This is mainly due to the slowness of the dawnings of each revelation to the novel's main character, Miles Roby; in fact, even readers who typically skim (and this is a pretty big novel, so skimming for some is inevitable) can pick up subtle hints that show, for instance, who Charlie Mayne really is and who is Charlene's lover. Luckily, Miles eventually figures this out (at the very end of the book, of course)and more, so one can't be completely frustrated by his seemingly selective understanding of the things going on around him.

Also, very few loose ends are left at novel's end, which is what I prefer when I read a stand-alone book. I'm curious to find out if Miles really did ever inherit the Empire Grill, but in the end it doesn't really matter. I also wish I knew if Tick ever had contact again with her summer love interest since her scheduled rendezvous obviously couldn't be kept. We do find out who was responsible for Cindy Whiting's accident as well as exactly what was wrong with John Voss and why he acted so strangely all the time. (His story is the most tragic, on several levels, and incredibly disturbing, so we had to know that his disappearance wouldn't last, leaving the reader unresolved over his fate; I knew there had to be a reason why I kept thinking of Pearl Jam's song "Jeremy" every time he was mentioned.)

The book ends rather abruptly, though, and perhaps too happily (if that's the right word to use to describe the ending). I mean, for the sake of the book innocents had to be taken to show the randomness of some violence (amid the deliberate planning that was used), but it's almost too tidy that Tick gets out alive. The Catholic dependency also is dropped maybe too quickly, considering how tightly Miles holds on to that during the first three parts of the novel, but I suppose that's not necessarily all that important a thread to hold on to. Also, the shifting perspective throughout the novel is absolutely essential so that the reader can pick up (more quickly than Miles can, at least) what's going on with other characters' motivations (although probably the best character-building moment comes from Cindy Whiting in her last face-to-face interaction with Miles, which shows just how tightly readers hold on to Miles's perspective, which isn't necessarily always the right one), but near the end we're so far removed from Miles that getting back inside his head seems forced, as a way to simply bring the novel to its conclusion.

Still, this is an amazing book overall simply because of the way it so accurately portrays the positives and negatives of small-town life. It doesn't have to be talking about a Maine city specifically to ring true to those who've experienced such an environment where everyone knows everyone else as a rule because that's just how it is. It picks up intensity as the end looms near (and one can't help but wonder exactly where the book is going or how it's ever going to make it there) and becomes less and less easy to put down....more

Not one character had a believable motivation, so when a vignette had run its course, Russo had nothing left to do but to jump ahead in time a little bit and let the next vignette recount the dramatic change that occurred in the gap between.

Kinda like John McClaine looking past his bare feet at a hall filled with shattered glass... cut to the next scene and he's pulling glass out of his fKeep in mind that it's been a while since I read this, but...

This book read like Die Hard: The Morality Play.

Not one character had a believable motivation, so when a vignette had run its course, Russo had nothing left to do but to jump ahead in time a little bit and let the next vignette recount the dramatic change that occurred in the gap between.

Kinda like John McClaine looking past his bare feet at a hall filled with shattered glass... cut to the next scene and he's pulling glass out of his foot in the bathroom. But how the hell did he get past the machine guns?! A Pulitzer novel should at the very least give us the machine guns. It seemed like the only forward momentum in this book was the page numbers....more

I continue to have a hard time with this. I find it extremely depressing. There is humor, but it is not the kind I like. It is sarcastic, mean humor where you are supposed to laugh at the stupidity or crude behavior of people. I protest; I like to laugh with people in happiness, not at people for our weaknesses. There is a priest that is demented and he wants to hear confessionals so he can hear what is going on and then he tells others. Now I don't think thaAfter a bit more than four chapters:

I continue to have a hard time with this. I find it extremely depressing. There is humor, but it is not the kind I like. It is sarcastic, mean humor where you are supposed to laugh at the stupidity or crude behavior of people. I protest; I like to laugh with people in happiness, not at people for our weaknesses. There is a priest that is demented and he wants to hear confessionals so he can hear what is going on and then he tells others. Now I don't think that is nice. Sure it might happen in the real world but how often? There is Miles' alcoholic father who continually throws out cruel, snide criticisms of his son and others. Miles' mother has died of cancer and her death was painful and horrible for all. I find this depressing. I am not avoiding the reality of life, but what is the purpose of sinking myself into the worst of man's behavior.

Mid-life crises kind of bore me.

None of this is a spoiler since I have not gone far into the book.

Neither have I even mentioned the prologue which was utterly disgusting. I don't find it appetizing to read about a decomposing moose, even if it leads C.B. to make a foolish decision - BTW, here I am just guessing. Let me point out that I never shy away from gruesome events in history, but what is the point here in reading about how people behave so cruelly to one another? What does that teach me?

There is absolutely nothing exceptional about the writing; the author's ability to depict an emotion, a place or an event is just plain ordinary.

This received a Pulitzer. Would somebody who loves this book explain to me why I should continue reading. I just do not understand. SHOULD I continue? I need advice.

*****************************

After 14 chapters(about half of the book):

So I continued; several said that Tick is a fabulous character. She plays a larger and larger role starting in Part Two. She cannot save this book for me. I find the humor not to my taste. I find the characters black or white - cardboard characters. It is simple to make two piles, the good ones and the bad ones. I cannot accept such characterization. People are complicated; they cannot be sorted in this manner. And the dialogs sound like those perfect for a popular weekly television series. Perfect sitcom dialogs.

In desperation I went and read spoiler reviews...... No, what is coming is not up my alley either. Enough is enough. I will be reading no more books by Richard Russo. This is my third and last try.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Ron Mclarty. That was the only thing that was exceptional. Great narration. His intonation perfectly matched the lines. So if you want to read this book don't hesitate to choose the audio format and this narrator....more

Richard Russo's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Empire Falls, offers the best of what is largely considered passé in the American novel. Rich characterization, hard-won insight and slow-seething drama vie for prominence in the story of Miles Roby - father, son, brother, ex-husband and manager of the Empire Grill, struggling to make a go of it in a small Maine township last-gasping its way to ruin.

The style is conversational; the first hundred pages a gossipy chat that serves to introduce our majorRichard Russo's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Empire Falls, offers the best of what is largely considered passé in the American novel. Rich characterization, hard-won insight and slow-seething drama vie for prominence in the story of Miles Roby - father, son, brother, ex-husband and manager of the Empire Grill, struggling to make a go of it in a small Maine township last-gasping its way to ruin.

The style is conversational; the first hundred pages a gossipy chat that serves to introduce our major players while luring us into deeper psychological terrain. Neighbors, friends, enemies, lovers - these are ancient relationships; mighty oaks with deep and complicated root systems that have, for reasons nearly beyond comprehension, managed to weather the worst Nature had to offer and Fate brought along. While much is taken for granted among the residents of Empire Falls, secrets do indeed remain and buried memories itch to rise. Add to this a stellar B-story involving Tick, Miles' teenage daughter (which, quite frankly, puts most of the Young Adult fiction I've read to pure and abiding shame), and you've got a novel that grows harder and harder to close the cover on.

This is everything I'm after when I'm hunting down the quintessential American tale. No cheap tricks or easy outs. Richard Russo has produced a work of substance that, at every single journeyman's turn, absolutely refused to insult my intelligence.

Empire Falls is a beautifully crafted, inventive and substantive character-driven novel. Having lived in college for four years in a milltown in Central Maine, in places, the novel seemed almost more realistic than the actuality of dwelling in the fabric of the milltown. That's possible only because Richard Russo has a talent for making both his vividly sketched blue-collar and blue-blooded characters really come alive. The credible story line is unafraid to assume some creative risks and the reEmpire Falls is a beautifully crafted, inventive and substantive character-driven novel. Having lived in college for four years in a milltown in Central Maine, in places, the novel seemed almost more realistic than the actuality of dwelling in the fabric of the milltown. That's possible only because Richard Russo has a talent for making both his vividly sketched blue-collar and blue-blooded characters really come alive. The credible story line is unafraid to assume some creative risks and the result is breath-taking imagery that lingers. Russo really succeeds in building a small town of his unique characters and tells the story so that we see them realistically through the eyes of the fellow citizens of Empire Falls. The storyline holds more than its fair share of surprises with a truly inventive twist at the close of the novel. The author's sanguine sense of humor carries one along as the plot gathers steam and the different threads become entangled in realistic and usually satisfying resolutions. Russo may owe homage to Elizabeth Strout for his portrait of ordinary life in a Maine milltown. The river itself ultimately proves itself a formidable player in the cast of Empire Falls. Russo seems to sum-up the lives of his characters this way: "Lives are rivers. We imagine we can direct their paths, though in the end there's but one destination, and we end up being true to ourselves only because we have no choice." Empire Falls offers living proof that character is destiny. Perhaps, that's one of many reasons why this novel is so "wicked good" that it justly earned a Pulitzer Prize. ...more

Where has this book been all my life?? Ok, Khay, I know you and Yitzchak have raved about it but somehow each time I tried it I couldn't get into it, and finally last week I gave it one last shot and was totally hooked. It reminds me of a higher quality Maeve Binchy in Russo's ablity to draw such colorful, consistant characters who get a rise out of you and all that small town flavor. This was EXACTLY what I needed when I was looking for something light but gripping (ie, NOT The Manny) - well, iWhere has this book been all my life?? Ok, Khay, I know you and Yitzchak have raved about it but somehow each time I tried it I couldn't get into it, and finally last week I gave it one last shot and was totally hooked. It reminds me of a higher quality Maeve Binchy in Russo's ablity to draw such colorful, consistant characters who get a rise out of you and all that small town flavor. This was EXACTLY what I needed when I was looking for something light but gripping (ie, NOT The Manny) - well, it worked very well as a soothing outlet for my first week back at school.I felt I had to give this five stars because it was just so enjoyable, and Russo has such a way with words that I found I wanted to make sure I read every line. However, some of this was far fetched (which did work, somehow, but still had me a little put off at times) and I was a bit confused by some things (Khay, we shall have to discuss) - and that whole last bit - it reminded me a little of I Know This Much is True, as all hell breaks loose and you're just like, huh??? And then everything is sort of neat and tidy. The wind up was on the one hand a real culmination of a lot of foreshadowing, on the other it just seemed totally out of nowhere and really crowded - Khay what did you think?All that aside, though, the criticism was truly minimal as this was by far one of the best written and most engaging books I've read in far too long (alas, we are back to nonfiction now, :( ... and I would strongly recommend it to anyone and everyone as a worthwhile and gratifying read - much humor and much drama, all very enjoyable....more

KYes -- I miss you, my critical friend. I will always remember our screening of "Left Luggage," where you and I were the only ones who weren't awed byYes -- I miss you, my critical friend. I will always remember our screening of "Left Luggage," where you and I were the only ones who weren't awed by all the melodrama. Well, you'll always find a comrade in criticism here on goodreads!...more
Sep 11, 2007 08:07AM

MTo quote a friend of mine: Margueya is notorious for recommending bad books. Like that book, Middlesex - that was awful!So, yeah, I can comiserate. HmTo quote a friend of mine: Margueya is notorious for recommending bad books. Like that book, Middlesex - that was awful!So, yeah, I can comiserate. Hmmph....more
Sep 11, 2007 04:05PM

I really, really like Russo. It's easy to plow through -- 480 pages gone in nothing flat, but the characters nonetheless come to life. For my sake, it doesn't hurt that his protagonists tend to be middling middle-aged nice-guys. But Russo is at his best when it comes to the oddball supporting cast -- the cantankerous Max Russo, the abrasive Minty clan, "batshit" Father Tom. I thought this book to be a step short of "Straight Man", but that's not putting it down much.

The wonder about this novel iI really, really like Russo. It's easy to plow through -- 480 pages gone in nothing flat, but the characters nonetheless come to life. For my sake, it doesn't hurt that his protagonists tend to be middling middle-aged nice-guys. But Russo is at his best when it comes to the oddball supporting cast -- the cantankerous Max Russo, the abrasive Minty clan, "batshit" Father Tom. I thought this book to be a step short of "Straight Man", but that's not putting it down much.

The wonder about this novel is the ease with which Russo changes point of view (from character to character) and steps forward and backward in time. To paraphrase a common sentiment in the book, life changes quickly, and often in an instant, for these characters in this book. And yet, the book remains fundamentally one in which the depth of the characters comes to the fore.

Oh, and it's funny too. Most of the time. Less so when people die....more

This book is full of the kind of hyperbole I just can't get behind. Miles was so so hapless, his daughter was so thin and wore a backpack that was so heavy it shook the room whenever she dropped it, his ex-wife was such a super bitch, that other guy was so obnoxious, his mother was so very beautiful, his father equally repulsive. They never came out of their boxes. Boring. I would have preferred an exaggerated plot, but nothing interesting every happened.

amyAck! Harsh review. I love this book. You should visit my hometown Winthrop, Maine someday where you'll see that characters like this truly exist...I'mAck! Harsh review. I love this book. You should visit my hometown Winthrop, Maine someday where you'll see that characters like this truly exist...I'm related to some of them. :) It's not just hyperbole. And they'll never change......more
Jan 30, 2008 09:47PM

I really need to go back and give this one a second reading. This was the first Richard Russo novel I ever read. I remember enjoying the plot and the characters, but sometimes it seemed endless to me, especially with all the flashbacks. Now that I have come to love Richard Russo's works, I may see it differently. You have to get used to the slow development of characters and relationships. Once you do, Russo's novels are a real pleasure to read.

A few good quotes I copied from Empire Falls:

"WhatI really need to go back and give this one a second reading. This was the first Richard Russo novel I ever read. I remember enjoying the plot and the characters, but sometimes it seemed endless to me, especially with all the flashbacks. Now that I have come to love Richard Russo's works, I may see it differently. You have to get used to the slow development of characters and relationships. Once you do, Russo's novels are a real pleasure to read.

A few good quotes I copied from Empire Falls:

"What if all everybody needed in the world was to be sure of one friend? What if you were the one, and you refused to say those simple words?"

"People who imagine themselves to be self-made seldom enjoy examining the process of manufacture in detail."

"The quickest way to beget a new desire is to satisfy an old one; and each new desire has a way of becoming more expensive than the last."

"Not giving a shit is like the defrost option on a car's heater that miraculously unfogs the windshield, allowing you to see where you're headed."

Richard Russo (born July 15, 1949) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist. Born in Johnstown, New York, and raised in nearby Gloversville, he earned a B.A. (1967), a M.F.A. (1980), and a Ph.D. (1979) from the University of Arizona.